Traveling with Kids

Sarah: Okay, John. I was curious about a trip you've taken. Have you ever taken a really, really awesome trip?

John: Yeah. I've been on a lot of awesome trips but I didn't know that trips could be so awesome until I went with my kids.

Sarah: Really? It went well?

John: Oh yeah. It went very well. It's more fun, I think to take kids with on a trip.

Sarah: Where did you go?

John: I went to Thailand.

Sarah: Wow.

John: My first trip with a kid was with my daughter to Thailand. We did everything. We rode on elephants in Chiang Mai, and we went down south and went to the beach. I wasn't worried about anything because of having kids with us. Yeah.

So I wonder what would have been different if I didn't have kids. I probably would have stayed up too late, and I wouldn't have woken up in the morning. In that way, I think kids can help you have a better vacation. You can use your time better because kids are definitely going to wake up early. So you can't waste the morning.

Sarah: You said you rode an elephant.

John: Yes.

Sarah: With your daughter? Didn't you think that was dangerous?

John: Well, I was nervous about it at first. I thought, maybe it would be too dangerous but we had very good guides to help us. So I asked the elephant trainers, "Do you think it's safe enough for my daughter to ride the elephants?" And the trainers told us, yes, it would be very safe. And the trainers were right there with us together, from the start to the end. So there was never any risk.

Sarah: Was there anything that you wanted to do but you decided you couldn't do it?

John: Well, maybe there are some things that younger people would do if they don't have kids like going out to a dance club late at night. But I wasn't too interested in doing that anyway, so I don't consider that I missed it. Besides a dance club late at night, I don't think there's anything else I skipped. Maybe an amusement park. When you have a baby or a toddler, you can't go to an amusement park and go on a roller coaster. But after the kids are older, you can do that, too.

Sarah: So when you went to Thailand, you had one daughter, do you have more kids now?

John: Yes. Now, I have a daughter and a son.

Sarah: Is it hard to travel with two kids?

John: Oh, it's a little harder than traveling with one kid but it's not twice as hard. There are two kids now but it's not twice as hard as traveling with one kid. Also, you find that lots of people want to help you. So if you have too many bags, for example, someone will help you carry your bags. Or if you need to feed your kids because babies can't feed themselves, right, well you just have to learn some skills like give one kid some toys while you feed the first child and then switch. So give toys to the other kid and feed the second one. So you learn lots of tricks like that so you can make traveling easier.

Sarah: Well, it sounds like you have a great time traveling with your kids. Thanks for telling me about it.

John: Oh yeah. I want to go on more trips with my kids. I can't wait for our next vacation.